


A Friend at A Bar

by rosey_girl203



Series: Child of Virtue [1]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Family Drama, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-22 13:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6081327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosey_girl203/pseuds/rosey_girl203
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After every mission, Ezekiel goes missing for a few hours. Every time he ends up in the same bar, chatting to the same girl. She seems to have this power to know exactly what he needs to feel better. She is like the all-knowing best friend. One time he takes the rest of the team to meet her only to get a surprise when someone from the team already knows her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Old Shire Bar

The day Ezekiel first met Artemis it was raining, he had snuck away after a mission with the rest of the Librarians gang and had decided to go for a drink on his own. After just driving around he ended up at a bar called “Old Shire Bar". The inside look liked an English Pub where the outside resembled that of a Portland dive bar. Everything was either made of dark brown wood or deep forest green with embellishments of bronze. To the left, there was archway that led into the bar’s small library with floor to roof bookcases bursting at the seams with books, with a small scatter of dark green leather armchairs and wooden side tables. Behind the bar to the right where a set ofdouble swinging wooden door with small clear glass windows that gave a peek into the bar’s kitchen. There were a few people scattered about the place either drinking, eating or reading. The energy inside made it feel warm and comfortable as if he was receiving a hug from a friend. Instantly he knew he liked the place and would visit as often as he could.

Behind thebar there was a male and female also completely identical. Both had stunning features, fire red hair and big bottle green eyes. The girl’s hair was tied back in a plait but still reached her lower back, the guy's hair was just brushing his shoulders. Both wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans. As they worked pouring and serving drinks to the customers they joked with the only person sitting at the bar. Her laugh was like a soft melody filling the whole building with joy. She turned to look at him and Ezekiel had to try his hardest not to let his jaw drop. She wore jeans and a black shirt similar to the twins, but she had an apron tied around her waist. She had patches of flour and cocoa powder everywhere so he made the guess that she worked in the bar’s kitchen. Her golden brown hair was tied back in a ponytail with a few loose strains framing her face. Her brown eyes were the colour of freshly melted dark chocolate and filled with warmth that made him wonder if that this all over buzz was what Cassandra and Stone felt when they looked at each other. She smiled and his mind went fuzzy, "Are you going to stand there the whole time or do you want a drink?"

Shaking his head Ezekiel took walked up to the bar and sat next to her. "Drink... please."

She looked him over once then looked at the guy bartender. "Leo get our friend here a German beer."

Ezekiel stared at her, confused. "Did you just order for me?"

She shrugged, "I have this talent of know what people want to drink."

He smiled and put out his hand. "Ezekiel Jones."

She took his hand in a handshake. "ArtemisGalath."

Thanking the bartender for the drink that was placed in front of him, he stared at the label for a second then took a drink, He had to fight back making a sound of absolute pleasure as he pleased the bottle back on the bar. He believed that he had found his new favourite beer. "So what brings you to this exact bar?"

Laughing Artemis took a drink from her own beer. "It would be bad for business if the owner didn't drink in her own bar."

Ezekiel looked shocked. "You'rekidding right? You own this place."

Nodding she smiled softly, "For 25 years my family has run it."

Ezekiel looked around, the whole feel of the bar made it seem more like something Flynn or Stone would inhabit more than him, but all the same, he was felt more and more at home just sitting there chatting away with Artemis and the bartenders, Leo and Rosie.

It was 4 am before Ezekiel realised just how late it was. "I should probably get going I havework soon." As he walked through the front door he looked back quickly and saw Artemis looking at him. His heart started beating a little faster as he turned back and walked to his car. Making the silent vow to come back whenever he could.

Artemis turned back and put a hand over her heart. "It's been a while since I felt that."

Rosie leaned on the bar. "What? Attraction?" Artemis playful pushed her a little.

"Maybe I don't know."

The girls laughed as Leo walked over and handed Artemis a piece of paper. "Table 5 order chicken salad."

She got up and smiled. "Back to work I go." And walked through the kitchen doors.


	2. Regular

It had been a week since Ezekiel had discovered Artemis and "Old Shire". He spent all his free time there talking to Artemis. If she wasn't available he would talk to Leo and Rosie.  
Swapping information with Artemis, he discovered that he liked her more and more. She was 21 turning 22 next month, just graduated from culinary school, her mum died when she was little and her dad left her with a family friend and disappeared. She spent most of her life being home-schooled with Leo and Rosie, whose parents also left them." She lived in the apartment above the bar and Leo and Rosie lived in the building next door. She had travelled to the world when she was younger and now was happy to settle down and run the family bar. She was into antique and history and she was smart enough to give Flynn or Stone a run for their money.  
Ezekiel lied about most of his past life and current job so that he seemed as normal as he could but still be impressive. He has lived most of his life travelling with a long stint in England and America and decided to settle down two years ago in Portland after being offered the job of a lifetime. To be a member of an extreme sports team. He was a relived when Artemis and the others believed him.  
Ezekiel sat at the bar that night drinking his favourite beer as Leo dried some cups in front of him. Trying his hardest to sound like he didn’t care Ezekiel brought up the topic that had been plaguing since he walked out of Old Shire that first night. “Is Artimus in a relationship with anyone?”  
Leo smirked. “If you call cooking 24/7 a relationship sure.” Then he realised what Ezekiel was doing. He looked up. “You have a thing for Arti?”  
Ezekiel looked into his drink, “Kinda…”  
Leo shook his head. “Good luck mate, Arti has walls around her heart higher than Berlin’s. Breaking them down is going to be hard. ”  
“Thanks mate.” Ezekiel took another drink.

After Ezekiel left that night, Artemis was chopping vegetables as Rosie walked in with a stack of dirty dishes. "So Ezekiel is coming around a lot. He qualifies as a regular now.”  
Artemis kept her head down but had a slight smile on her face. "Is that so?"  
Rosie put the dishes in the sink then came to sit on the bench next to where she was working. "Yeah and you've been flirting with him."  
Artemis looked up for a second. "No, I have not."  
Rosie picked up a potato and started tossing it from hand to hand. "Come on Artemis you haven't dated any for..."  
Artemis grabbed the potato out of Rosie's hand. "Say how long and you end up in the soup."  
Putting her hands up as a surrender, Rosie laughed. "Touchy, touchy. You haven't been like this since Teddy."  
Knowing her best friend wasn't going to leave until she admitted like the new regular, Artemis sighed and put her knife down and rubbed her hands on her apron. “What do you want me to say, Rosanna? That I find him attractive, that if I could I would date him to see where a relationship would go?"  
Rosie smiled. "Yeah, something liked that."  
Going back the vegetables, Artemis sighed again. "You know relationships with normal humans are impossible for people like us."  
Moving to stand next to her best friend, Rosie slung an arm over Artemis's shoulders. "Still doesn't hurt to try."


	3. Artemis's Apartment

2 months of regular visits to Old Shire and Ezekiel now knew the place like the back of his hand, but for the first time he was getting to see Artemis's apartment. It was small and cosy with one walled cover with mismatched bookcases that were bursting at the seams with books. The kitchen small and practical with a small  table and three chairs off to the side where he assumed Artemis used for file work since that was what covered it. There was a couch and coffee table in the living area and a small plasma TV, but what caught his eye was the compact bow and arrows lying on the coffee table. "You do archery?"  
Artemis nodded as she handed him a beer. "Since I was little. I use to compete but I stopped after I brought this place. I still go to the range every now and again to practice."  
"That's really awesome." They clink their beers together. "So any other awesome talent I should be aware of?"  
Artemis thought deeply. “Horse riding, quarterstaff and basic herbalism."

Ezekiel took a slow drink. "Huh... you are a girl of many talents." Taking another drink, he thought about the skills. “Little old fashioned aren’t they?”

Artemis smiled. “I like the more hands-on skills.” She sat on the couch and watch as he walked around scoping out her apartment.

He came across a group of photos hanging on the wall. Most were of her, Leo and Rosie in spots all over the world. One was of her standing next to a large man in a chef’s uniform holding her certificate. But the one that stood out to him was one of her and an older looking woman, they were both lying in the grass with daisy chain crowns tangled up in their hair, smiling up at the camera. “Who’s this?”

She walked up beside him and smiled. “Lissa, she was the one who looked after me when I was little. She runs this little bookstore in Pittsburgh. I have lived there until I went to culinary school.”  

“She must miss you.”

“Yeah, we visit each other when we can but it gets hard.” She absentmindedly brushed the frame of the picture. “She’s basically been my mother for as long as I can remember.”

“You’re lucky to have her.”

“I know.” They both stood in silence looking at the photo for a few minutes. After a while Artemis moved and sat back on the couch, it then did Ezekiel realised that she had been holding his hand. Downing the last of her beer Artemis put the empty bottle in her recycling. “So do you have any family?”

Ezekiel thought for a moment. “The people at work are the closest thing I have to one. We’ve only been together for a couple of years but we just click together really well.” He passed her his empty bottle and she threw it out.

Artemis perked up again. “Yeah? That’s really nice. Do you think you’ll ever bring them around here?”

Ezekial stayed silent for a bit. He had kept this place to himself for over a month. He did want Artemis to meet them eventually but he still had a little bit of his selfish personality in him to not want to share her with them just yet. “Maybe one day.”

“Do you have a photo of them?” Ezekiel grabbed out his phone and sat next to her, he checked his gallery and there were a few selfies for a recent trip to the zoo with Cassandra and Stone. The three of them had gone after a mission had left Cassandra in an extremely raw state and both boys wanted to cheer her up. He brought up the group photo and handed his phone over.

“The girl is Cassandra, Stone are the other guy.” In the photo, Cassandra was holding a red panda as Ezekiel and Stone stood either side of her. All three had big smiles on their faces.

“Is Cassandra your girlfriend?” Ezekiel chuckled as Artemis handed his phone back.

“No, she and Stone have a thing for each other.” Fiddling with his phone, he shoved it back into his pocket.

Both turned to each other. “Would you…” Then came a knock at the door. Leo popped his head in.

“Sorry, Arti I need you in the kitchen. A party of 12 just came through the door.” Artemis nodded.

“Okay coming. What were you about to ask?”

Ezekiel waved a hand dismissing it. “Don’t worry about it.” They both stood up and walk to the stairs. “I’ll ask you later.” She nodded and hurried into the kitchen. Ezekiel walked to the bar until he got a call from Baird calling him back to the Library. He turned to Rosie who was pouring beer. “Can you tell Arti that I had to leave? My supervisor just called.”

Rosie nodded, “Sure thing.” He gave a small forced smile and left. 

\---------------------------------------------------

After the party of 12 was served Artimus came out to see that Ezekial had left. "Damn it." 

Rosie walked over to her. "Sorry, he left just as you came down to work."

Sighing she started clearing dirty plates. "That's okay. I'll ask him next time."


	4. Team Meet Artemis

Ezekial had finally convinced himself to invite everyone to come to the bar and met Artemis. Flynn and Jenkin's had stayed behind to clean up an artefact that had caused some havoc. As they entered Artemis greeted them warmly, "Hey Ezke! These the friends you were talking about?"  
"Yeah, this is Coronal Baird, Cassandra Cillian and Jacob Stone. Flynn and Jenkins are on their way"  
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all.” She shook hands with everyone and showed them to a nearby booth. “So let me guess what everyone will have. Beer for the two boys, German for Ezke and Irish for Jacob, Fruit mocktail for Cassandra and diet cola in a glass for the Coronal.” Ezekiel smiled as the other three looked at her in disbelief. “"It's a talent I've acquired while I've owned this bar.”  
Eve nodded, “Its useful skill for a bartender to have.” Artemis smiled as she walked away to grab the drinks.  
Stone leaned over to Ezekiel. “Did you tell her beforehand what we wanted or something?” Ezekiel just smiled and shook his head.  
“Now why would I do that mate? When it I more fun to see the look on your face when she did the order.” Stone blinked a few times then silent went back to sitting straight.

A few minutes later Artemis returned with everyone’s drinks. “Enjoy, if you want anything to eat call out to Leo, Rosie or myself and we’ll take your order.” At that moment, Flynn and Jenkin’s arrived, as she looked over Artemis smiled dropped and she pointed to the door. “Get out.”  
Flynn looked distressed. "Me?"  
She walked straight up to Jenkin's and pointed to the door behind him. "Out! You are not welcome here."  
"Whats going one?" Eve walked up to the pair.  
Artemis spun around tears forming in her eye. "Please stay out of it. This is between him and me."  
Ezekial was starting to look distressed. He didn't know why but he wanted Jenkin's out of all of them to approve of Artemis. "What is going on? Arti talk to us." But she was ignoring them and only talking to Jenkins.  
“After all this time, you think you can walk back into my life. You left me, a grieving child who had just lost her mother, you dropped me at Lissa’s place and just vanished!” Tears flowed freely as she ran into the kitchen. Leo and Rosie looked as dumbfounded as the rest of them. Jenkins, looking severely shaken by what just happened, turned to walk out the door only to have Eve and Flynn block the way.  
Baird crossed her arms, “Time to talk.”  
Jenkins looked back towards where Artimus ran off to. "She’s my daughter."


	5. Talk to Me...

Ezekiel went to run after Artemis only to be stopped by Leo grabbing his arm. "Don't! Let Rosie handle this. You don't understand the situation yet." motioning to his twin as she entered the kitchen after her crying best friend.  
Ezekiel tried to yank his arm out of his grip but failed. "Don't care. She needs me."  
Leo gripped tightened slightly. "You're not going to help her in any way if you don't understand the situation."  
The boys stared each other down before Ezekiel realized that there was no way he could win. "Fine explain it to me."

Leo nodded and let go, only for Ezekiel to bolt to the kitchen. The rest of the group followed and found Artemis and Rosie sitting on the stairs that contented the kitchen to Artemis's apartment. Artemis looked up, her eyes and cheeks red. "Guess you all came for an explanation."  
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "I tried to give you some time to recuperate but that one," she motioned to Ezekiel who had already sat on the opposite side of Artemis to Rosie and rubbing her knee in support. "Wouldn't hear of it."  
Artemis shrugged and smiled at Ezekiel. "I wouldn't expect any less." She then looked at the rest of the group, then to her father. "Before I can. Do you all mind leaving so I can talk to my father alone."

Everyone tried to protest but one look from Artemis's eye begging for them to comply and they all except Ezekiel left. Artemis took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I'll be okay, I promise."  
He gave a reluctant nod. "I'll be right outside if you need me." then got up and left.  
She took a moment to compose herself before looking at Jenkins. "I have so many questions. I don't really know where to start."  
Jenkins pulled over a nearby stool and sat down. "Where ever you want to. I'll answer any questions you want."  
"Why did you leave me with Lissa? I was only 100 years old. I had barely finished puberty, my mother was dead and you deserted me with a stranger. Why?"  
"It wasn't safe for you to be with me."  
"Why?"  
"An old enemy found the house you, your mother and I were living in. They wanted revenge on me for something that had happened long ago, before the round table. They killed your mother to get to me. I wasn't going to let them have you too. You are too precious to me to lose. I couldn't bring myself to think what I would do if they killed you too. So I left you with Lissa knowing that she could keep you hidden and safe."  
"But you never came back for me."  
"After a while, I just became too ashamed of what I did to face the disappointment you would have in me."   
For the first time, Artemis saw who her father was the day he left her. A grieving man who was scared to death that he could lose his daughter as well. She also saw who he was now, a man that must have regretted the century of memories he had missed, a man not sure if his daughter could ever forgive him.  
Getting up, she walked over to Jenkins and hugged him.  
"I forgive you, father." Tears began to follow again but this time, they were happy. Taking a step back and wiping her tears, Artemis smiled. "Let's try again. Hello father, I've missed you."  
Jenkins smiled back and pulled his daughter in for another hug. "Hello Artemis. I've missed you too."

\------------

Outside the kitchen, Leo and Rosie had cleared out the bar of everyone except the Librarians and Guardian. Ezekiel paced back and forth in front of the kitchen door, while Flynn, Cassandra, Jake and Eve interviewed the twins panel style.

Flynn was bustling with excitement. "If Artemis is Jenkins daughter and Jenkins is Galahad then does that mean that..."  
Leo nodded. "Yes, Artemis is a Camelot Child. Rosanna and I are as well. We are children of Sir Tristan."  
Flynn bounced with excitement as he explained to the rest of the group. "Camelot Children are the direct descendants of the knights of the round table."  
Eve looked a little annoyed. "We got that from the children and Camelot part."  
Flynn ignored her interjection. "What makes them special is they also have the elongated lifespan like the knights. They age normally until they are about ten then their ageing seems to slow downing down to the point where is seems they don't age at all."  
Rosie nodded. "That is usually around the biological age of 21 or 22 it varies for each child. We still can get sick and break bones but we just seem to live to a very old age."  
Leo looked deep in thought. "I believe the oldest Camelot Child died at the age of 3276 in 1908. Maro died of natural causes so we believe that is roughly our life span but since there are very few Camelot Children in existence and even less dead, it is difficult to truly know. Though we know the Librarians do have a record of all of us in the Library."  
Jake and Cassandra looked dumbfounded. "You know about the Library?"  
Leo laughed. "Of course we do. Camelot Children were part of its creation. Though there has never been a Camelot Child Librarians or Guardian, we usually are the caretakers. Looking after the library and annex while the Librarian and Guardian are away and taking care of them when they come back."  
Cassandra looked confused. "So they did what Jenkins does?"  
Rosie and Leo looked at each other with confused looks then back at the redhead librarian. "What does he do?"  
Stone took a drink of the beer in front of them. "Basically, what you just described."  
the connection clicked in their minds. "Ahh, so yes at this present moment Galahad is the library's caretaker."

At that moment, Artemis and Jenkins reemerged from the kitchen. Ezekiel was instantly at her side. "Are you okay, can I do anything? I can..." Artemis shut him up by hugging the thief. "I'm okay... now, Father and I had a talk and we worked things out." She smiled at Jenkins.  
He smiled back. "We do have a lot of catching up to do."  
As those words were spoken, a letter slipped out of a pile of mail on the counter and landed on Flynn's foot. He instantly recognized what it was. "You may have more time than you think." smiling he handed her the letter. Ezekiel understood what it was as well and almost jumped for joy. 

With a confused look, Artemis opened the letter. It glowed bright gold and it inscribed. "You have been accepted to interview for a prestigious position at the metropolitan public library." Looking at the letter Artemis looked a little confused. "What am I going to do with this place? I can't just sell it."  
Rosie stepped forward. "We can look after it. We'll just hire a new full-time cook. I know Justin get back from Paris next week so I'll ask him to take over your position."  
"What about my apartment?"  
Jenkins had the answer to that. "The Library has already taken care of that. They probably have your room near where Eve and Cassandra's are."  
Finally, Artemis smiled. "This is amazing. I never thought I would see the Library and make up with my father all in one day."  
Eve smiled. "Welcome to the Library Artemis." putting out her hand Artemis quickly took it.  
" It will be a pleasure working with all of you."


End file.
